Take My Hand
by rushinda
Summary: With Camp so tense and war on its way, Clarisse barely has any time to spend with Chris. Sneaking out one night seems like a good option...until they get caught. / A Chrisse short.
1. Chapter 1

Despite its magical weather controls, it was an unbearably hot night at Camp Half-Blood. The air in the Ares cabin was sticky and oppressive and Clarisse La Rue threw off her blankets and cursed the heat. It was impossible to sleep when the air around you was so thick it felt like a solid, all-encompassing monster swallowing you whole.

Clarisse didn't need any more monsters. The gods knew she had seen more than her fair share at only sixteen. And those didn't include the monsters she saw inside her head. Clarisse knew that if she closed her eyes and somehow managed to sleep, far more dangerous thoughts than any Cyclops or _drakon_ would invade her dreams. She wasn't scared of the monstrous beasts that roamed the woods outside or that stalked the New York subways and streets. Those she could take down with her spear in a few quick moves. Her thoughts were fanged beasts with razor sharp claws that she could not escape. Time and time again, her worst memory, replayed in her mind. Her best friend, Silena Beauregard, fell to her death and Clarisse was never there in time to save her. Silena was dead because of her. It wasn't something she would ever shake off or forget.

Staring up at the ceiling, Clarisse wished she could tell someone about it. She wished she could tell _Chris_ about it. But lately they had barely hung out. Now that there was talks of war between Camp Half-Blood and the newly discovered rival camp, Camp Jupiter, Clarisse was in charge of planning for the inevitable fight as the strongest daughter of Ares. The thing was, Clarisse was good in a fight – one of the best – but she'd rather be out there doing the battling rather than planning for it. That was more up Annabeth Chase's street. But Annabeth was gone on a quest and it fell to Clarisse to plan for the war. Between that and her councillor duties, she barely got a chance to even see her boyfriend.

She realised that she missed him. Even though she saw him every day, it was never for more than a few minutes. A couple of minutes between archery practice and swordplay. A quick hug while she was running between war meetings and he was on his way to a chariot race. It was never enough.

A loud creaking outside on the porch snapped her out of her thoughts. She lay still, listening for the sound again. Nothing but silence. She must have imagined it; no one would dare pull a prank on the Ares kids in the middle of the night. They had more weapons stashed under their beds than in the whole of the armoury.

_Creak, creak._

Clarisse sat up, rolled out of bed and grabbed her spear in a flash. She turned back for a second to make sure her brothers and sisters were still sleeping and tiptoed toward the door. She could hear someone shuffling around outside the door.

"Not today, punk," she muttered under her breath.

As silently as she could, she unlocked the door and swung it open.

A dark shape tumbled into the doorway, landing with a loud thud and yelp of surprise. "Ow!"

The shape, once it had sorted itself into a sitting position, resembled a tall, skinny boy with floppy hair and eyes which glinted mischievously even in the dark. Clarisse would know them anywhere.

"Chris?"

"Hey," Chris grinned as if it were the most normal thing in the world for him to be sprawled on the floor of the Ares cabin in the middle of the night. "Thought I'd _drop by_."

Clarisse swallowed a laugh. It was breaking the rules to be in someone else's cabin at any time of day, never mind at night, and they could get in a heap of trouble. But right then she didn't really are. She didn't dwell on whether or not it was a coincidence that the one person she had been wishing she could talk to had fallen on to her doorstep – literally. She was insanely happy to see him.

She motioned for him to step outside and followed him after carefully checking none of her cabin mates had noticed the intrusion and setting her spear down.

"What are you doing here?" she asked once they were outside. She tried to sound like she was annoyed but she wasn't fooling anyone. A smile that hadn't been seen in far too long lit up her face and the worry lines that had started forming around her eyes disappeared as she looked up at her boyfriend.

"I couldn't sleep," Chris shrugged. For a split second, his grin slipped a little and Clarisse wondered if there was more than just the heat keeping him awake. But before she could even decide whether she'd really seen it, his smile was back in place and he was looking at her in a way that made her want to forget about bad dreams and wars and monsters. "So I thought I would come to see my favourite person in the world. You know, that slow kid that always comes last in the chariot races?"

Clarisse laughed, "Hey, that's my brother, you jerk."

"Forget him, come here." Chris reached out and closed the few inches between them, pulling her into his arms.

Clarisse's heart skipped a beat at the way her head fit perfectly in the space between his shoulder and neck, and the way his arms felt like the walls of home around her.

"I miss you," Chris whispered into her hair. "It's like we never see each other anymore."

"I know," Clarisse mumbled. The words got lost in the material of his T-shirt but she knew he understood. She'd only been thinking the same thoughts just minutes before.

"So let's do something," Chris said, suddenly animated, "Now."

"Now?" Clarisse echoed hesitantly, "But it's so late. And if we get caught, the harpies are definitely not going to be happy."

"We won't get caught," Chris insisted. He pulled away from her, just enough to be able to look down at her. His eyes were sparkling in the way that Hermes' kids' did when they had a brilliant idea that would no doubt end in trouble.

"I don't know," Clarisse bit her lip. She couldn't afford to get in trouble, not right now when the camp actually needed her to be responsible. There was a part of her that wanted to kiss Chris goodnight and go back into the cabin. But there was another part of her that wanted to spend time with her boyfriend like she deserved, no matter what the consequences would be.

"Come on, Clarisse," Chris whispered conspiratorially, "Who's going to catch us? It'll be just you and me and it will be perfect."

They were so close Clarisse could feel his breath against her skin and could see the way his brown eyes shone as they looked at her. He was _hers,_ this beautiful boy, with his crooked smile and tousled hair. She could reach up and touch his face or kiss him and no one could stop her because she was his, and he was hers. And she wanted to. She so, so wanted to.

"It's a bad idea," she said, trying to convince herself more than anything.

"We'll be alone."

"We'll get caught."

"We've covered this already. Stop trying to talk yourself out of it."

"Okay, fine."

"Okay?" Chris was genuinely surprised and she laughed at the way his eyebrows shot up at her response.

"Yeah, Rodriguez, okay," she grinned.

It felt good, knowing she would be breaking the rules. She felt happy. But more than that, she felt alive, like a kid. The past few months had weighed her down and she hadn't even realised until now when it felt like the weight was being lifted off her shoulders. She wanted to do something crazy, something fun, like she used to when there had been no Titans or Roman camps and missing demigods.

The smile that lit up Chris's face chased away any lingering doubts Clarisse may have had about sneaking out. When he smiled at her like that, she would go to the ends of the world for him. Her mind flashed back to a couple of years ago when she had found him near her mom's house in Phoenix, delirious from being inside the now-destroyed labyrinth of Daedalus. He had come so far from being that scared, lonely kid and he had _chosen_ to be with her in his new life. Sometimes she still couldn't believe it. She couldn't imagine life without him, not after all they'd been through.

She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed his nose. "Let's go."

He was a grin, a kiss, and a shot of pure adrenaline in the dark.


	2. Chapter 2

Sneaking out was easier than Clarisse had expected. The cabins were arranged in a large circle around Hestia's hearth but no harpies hung around here. The whole camp was deserted but glowed silver in the moonlight. The statues of the gods in the pavilion which sometimes looked so menacing and fierce in the day time looked soft and serene in the silvery glow. The night sky was lit with a thousand stars, tucked away beneath blankets of wispy grey clouds. The moon hung like a spotlight fixed on the canoe lake in front of them. From somewhere out of sight, a cicada trilled a summer tune.

"Camp is so beautiful at night," Clarisse sighed. As soon as the words left her mouth, she scolded herself for sounding so sentimental.

She didn't notice the way Chris looked at her when she turned away, his eyes soft with the love she brought out in him when she looked the way she did right now: the moonlight shining on her pale skin, her eyes full of wonder at a world she had every right to hate. To Chris, she had never looked so beautiful.

They walked hand in hand down to the short pier where they sat, dangling their bare feet in the cool water. Clarisse leaned into Chris, marvelling at the way his arms folded against her and drew her close in a way that made her feel so completely safe. She never wanted to leave. She wanted to freeze time right here, with his breath against her hair, his arm around her and her heart so full of happiness she thought it would surely burst.

"I remember the first time I saw this lake," Chris said softly. Clarisse sat up straighter; Chris didn't like talking about the past but when he did, she made a point to listen. It made her feel closer to him. "I thought it was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. I had never been out of San Luis my whole life and out there, in the desert, there's nothing like this. When I stepped over that boundary line, I thought I might finally belong somewhere; that's what my protector had told me.

"But it never happened that way. I got so…_angry_ at my dad, at how I still didn't fit in. This place became like hell for me. I could never leave. I couldn't see my mom. I couldn't talk to my friends back home. I was surrounded by all this beauty and I was supposed to like it. But I hated it. This was supposed to be home to me but it was like a trap. It was too perfect, like the gods were saying 'Look how great we are!' but they never even took the time to make sure their kids were alright. It was all a lie."

He was silent for a long time. A lazy breeze stirred the thick, hot air around them, offering no cool relief from the heat. Clarisse slipped her hand into Chris's and was surprised by how tightly he held on. She rubbed her thumb along his knuckles but said nothing. He wasn't done yet, she could tell.

"I don't see it that way anymore. Right now, I feel exactly the same as I did all those years ago. This place is magical, beautiful. I don't know if I would ever have seen it this way again if I hadn't met you."

Chris kissed the top of her head. Clarisse felt tears prick at her eyes but she blinked them away. No one had ever said that she made the world beautiful. She was the daughter of the god of war. The blood that ran in her veins stood for destruction, hate, violence. How could Chris think she brought beauty and magic into the world?

"Chris, I –" Clarisse started to say but was cut short by a voice coming from behind them.

"Well, what do we have here?"

Chris and Clarisse scrambled to their feet. "Chiron!"

"Yes, indeed," Chiron sighed, shaking his head disappointedly, "Now, would you care to tell me what two of my senior campers are doing out of bed at this late hour which, as they both know, is a clear violation of Camp rules?"

"W-we were just –" Clarisse began but Chris slipped his hand into her and squeezed, making her stop.

"It was my fault, Chiron," Chris admitted, "I convinced Clarisse to sneak out. It wasn't her idea."

Chiron sighed again. "I know it has been difficult for you, coming out of one war and going straight into another. You haven't had time to be children. I understand things are difficult. More difficult than it should be for any half-blood your age…but I cannot let this go unpunished. You understand that, I hope."

Clarisse hung her head in shame. She couldn't get in trouble, not now, not when the whole camp needed her. What had she been thinking sneaking out when there was a_ war council _meeting tomorrow? She felt any happiness she had felt drain away and only felt annoyance at her own stupidity and shame.

"We understand, Chiron," Chris replied from beside her.

She wriggled her fingers away from his. She knew he had only wanted to spend some time alone with her – and she couldn't deny that she had wanted the same thing – but she couldn't swallow the tiny bit of anger that welled up inside her. He had known what a crucial time this was for her; to distract her from her duties now seemed almost selfish. Even after what he'd just said, she couldn't make the anger go away. She realised she had been right: she was not the stuff of beauty and magic, she was anger and hatred personified.

"We'll take whatever punishment you give us, Chiron," Clarisse said. She was surprised at how cold her voice sounded. She hadn't intended for it to come out so serious.

Chiron must have been surprised too. He cleared his throat and said, "Well, child, you have a lot of crucial duties at hand. It would not be right for me distract you from them. And seeing how the scenario could have been far worse, I am willing to let you both off lightly. Kitchen duty, tomorrow, after dinner."

Great. Kitchen duty on a Saturday night. The whole camp would be down on the beach having a sing-along and she'd be stuck in the kitchens cleaning dishes with boiling lava. The truth was a bitter pill to swallow but she forced it down and nodded.

"Fair's fair," she said, "Thank you, Chiron, for letting me keep my place on the war council. Goodnight."

She walked away from the two shadowed figures on the pier without a word. She thought she heard Chris call her name but she wasn't sure and she didn't turn back to check. She realised that all she wanted was to be alone but she had no option but to go back to her cabin.

She let herself in, tucked herself into bed and forced herself to close her eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

Chris woke up in the morning in a foul mood. In the Hermes cabin, that wasn't unusual because the line for the bathroom was always too long and the hot water was usually used up by the time he went to take a shower but today, his mood had nothing to do with his siblings' bathroom rituals.

Last night had been a disaster. All he'd wanted was to spend some time with Clarisse. She had been growing more and more distant from him. The impending battle between the camps was pulling her further and further away from him and into her work. And it was important, he knew that. Nothing could be more important than the safety of Camp Half-Blood, their home, but there was a part of him that wanted to stop being a soldier and just be a regular kid at a summer camp. He felt selfish for getting Clarisse into trouble when she needed to stay focused. She was mad at him, he knew that, and she had every right to be.

But there was also a nagging voice in his head that refused to regret what had happened last night. He wouldn't take it back, not for anything. It was the first time in a long time that he'd been able to talk to Clarisse like that, hold her like that. Last night, he'd almost forgotten than they were demigods who were in constant danger of facing a horrible death. He had felt like a normal kid on a date with his girlfriend. He wished for the billionth time since waking up that morning that things could be different, even if just for a day. Even if it was just long enough for him to Clarisse he loved her.

"Hey, Chris, man you coming?" one of his brothers called from the doorway. He'd taken so long putting on his shoes he'd completely missed everyone lining up to head out to breakfast.

"Yeah, I'll catch up," he replied. Alone in the cabin, he slouched his shoulders and sighed. A whole day knowing that he'd get to see Clarisse at the end of it. Only when he did meet her, she'd be mad at him.

Some days, you could never win.

When evening came, the sun bled out across the horizon, tinting the Long Island Sound pink. To Chris, as he looked out across it from his seat at the Hermes table, the way the light shone across the water reminded him of the way Clarisse's eyes had shone last night. She had looked happy, happier than he could remember her being in a long time, and he could only pray it had lasted while he scraped off some of his dinner into the fire.

He looked out across the tables at her. She was talking animatedly to some of the brothers and sisters but even from this distance, he could see that her smile didn't reach her eyes. He wanted to tell her to stop being so hard on herself. Yes, people were counting on her, but nobody expected her to lead them singlehandedly into victory. The way her siblings were looking at her made it clear they admired her more than anything. Chris wished she could see the way people looked at her: with admiration and respect. Sometimes, she was so caught up in thinking they only saw her as the scary daughter of Ares that she missed the good in herself. And there was plenty of it; Chris loved her for it.

"Alright, everybody," Chiron's voice echoed around the dining pavilion, "We thank the gods and our kitchen staff for another splendid meal. But the time has come for us to head down to the beach for a campfire sing-along. So now, without further ado – to the beach!"

Kids whooped and yelled and poured from their benches, rushing in a stream of orange towards the beach. Athena's kids linked arms with Hecate's children, Apollo's cabin and Hephaestus's brood laughed and ran together. It was the best time, Chris thought, when you didn't have to belong to one cabin, when everyone came together as a camp. He wished he could be down there with them but not tonight. Tonight he had other things to take care of.

At the Ares table, Clarisse had pulled her hair back with a bandana and was already clearing away plates and goblets. Without a word, she carried what she could into the kitchens. Swallowing his disappointment, Chris did the same.

The kitchens were vast with dozens of worktables, ovens and sinks. But they were overwhelmingly hot. The sinks were filled to the brim with boiling lava, the cleaning harpies' detergent of choice, and the air simmered with the heat. Invisible wind spirits brought in dirty dishes and set them down by the sinks before whisking themselves away.

Chris waited until the last of the wind spirits had gone (or so he hoped) before plucking up the courage to speak. He cleared his throat, "So, um, how was the war council today?"

"Productive," Clarisse replied curtly. "It really put things in perspective, you know. Made me think about what's really important right now."

Chris couldn't help but cringe a little at that. _So, what, we're not important?_ he wanted to ask. But he bit his tongue. He knew that's not what Clarisse meant. Bringing up an argument like that wouldn't be fair to her.

But Clarisse seemed to realise what she'd said because she looked up from the dish she was scrubbing and frowned at him. "I mean, right now, we really need to focus on the war, Chris."

"I know," Chris said, picking up a sponge and a goblet, "But ease up, ok? You're doing fantastically."

"Ease up?" Clarisse repeated incredulously, "How can I ease up knowing campers might lose their _lives_ in a few months? There is no easing up! It's all or nothing right now!"

"All I'm saying is, it's not all up to you," Chris said patiently, "You're the strongest person I know, Clarisse. You'll get us through this, I know you will. I would trust you with my life – you've already saved it once! You don't need to beat yourself up about it. No one expects you to be any more than you can be. You may be a demigod but you're not superhuman; no one would ever be stupid enough to expect you to do all the work for us. We're all soldiers here. We're going to do our bit too."

Clarisse slumped against her sink, her shoulders sagging under the weight of something invisible and unbearable. "I know," she sighed, "But my dad…" Suddenly she straightened as if she realised she'd said too much, though she hadn't said anything at all. "We need to get back to this."

She was standing only a few feet away from him but the look in her eyes was a million miles away. She was too young to look so sad. Chris hated to see her this way.

"Oh, yes, this _all important_ duty of cleaning dishes," he said rolling his eyes, frowning at a plate smeared with something which was most definitely not barbeque sauce. "What in Hades even _is_ this? Looks like someone ate their BBQ with Pegasus poop."

"Oh, gods, Chris," Clarisse groaned. She bit the inside of her cheeks to stop herself from smiling. "That's disgusting."

"Oh, come on!" Chris laughed, "Like you weren't thinking it!"

Clarisse chuckled in spite of herself then immediately twisted her face into an unconvincing frown. "Not funny."

"Sure."

"We have work to do."

"Gods, Clarisse, when did you become such a priss?" Chris joked, flicking his dishcloth at her and winking.

"Excuse me?" Clarisse spluttered. She was still trying not to smile. "You're such a dork. Why do I even like you?"

"Oh, so you _like _me?" Chris teased, coming up behind her and putting his arms around her waist.

"Shut up, Chris," Clarisse snapped without malice, trying to wriggle out of his grasp. "It's getting dark – can you go turn the lights on?"

"What? Sorry, I didn't hear you," Chris whispered, burying his head in her shoulder, "I'm a little distracted right now."

"Stop!" Clarisse laughed. "Seriously, I need to get started on the refrigerator or Chiron will extend our duty to two days."

"Right now that doesn't seem too bad," Chris grinned into her orange camp T-shirt. She smelled like the strawberries that grew in the fields but also lavender shampoo, something that always surprised him.

Clarisse broke out of his grasp, trying to hide a smile and went over to the huge industrial refrigerators which lined one wall. "Honestly, can't you take anything seriously?"

Shaking her head, she opened the refrigerator door. The light inside glowed golden and shone behind her head like a halo. She didn't look like she had last night, but it was close. Chris felt his body flush with warmth when he saw a spark in her eyes that he was beginning to worry would be lost forever. Her hair was escaping from under her bandana and her face was tinted red from the heat. She was biting her lip to keep herself from smiling too much – she was still supposed to be mad at him – but he could see the corners of her mouth tugging upwards. She was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen.

"So are you going to get that light?" she asked, cocking her head towards the light switch.

Instead of answering, Chris strode towards her, closing the gap between them in three long strides. He didn't care about the unwashed plates or the slowly darkening kitchen. He gathered Clarisse up in his arms and pulled her to him. She didn't relax into him as she normally would have. He ran his fingers through her hair, loosening her ponytail. "I'm sorry I got us in trouble. It was selfish of me. But I just wanted to be with you. You know what it's like not seeing you? It's like not seeing the sun."

Clarisse slumped into him with such force, he almost stumbled. She put her arms around his waist and when she sighed against his chest, it was as if she had breathed life into him. His relief was almost palpable. "Chris," she said quietly, "You can't say stuff like. Normal people don't say stuff like that. I'm not that special."

"What are you talking about?" Chris demanded, "You're the only reason I'm even here at all. Don't ever say that Clarisse. You're nothing if not special. I owe everything to you. You're everything to me."

Clarisse looked up at him and her deep brown eyes looked misty. She blinked and they were clear again, shining like the glittering stars that were just beginning to show outside the window. When she smiled, it was a picture of perfection Chris would hang on the walls of his heart until the day he died.

Clarisse sniffed and looked around them in mock disdain. "Uh, so why'd you bring me _here_ on a date, Rodriguez?"

Chris laughed. The sound of it filled the room and Clarisse's lungs. "What are you talking about? This is a freaking ballroom compared to some of the places we've been!"

"Oh, and I feel like such a princess," Clarisse laughed, batting her eyelashes like one of the airhead Aphrodite girls.

Chris spun her away from him in a clumsy twirl that left Clarisse dizzy and laughing. "May I have this dance, my lady?" Chris grinned, dipping into an exaggerated bow.

Clarisse only laughed and it was a sound he wished he could replay forever in his mind.

He pulled her close and kissed her. Soft light spilled from the open door of the refrigerator behind them, enveloping them in its golden glow. They were untouchable, breathless and a dizzying sight.

A short distance away, campers sung around a blazing purple flame. Many miles away, an army clad in purple T-shirts stormed closer towards their camp.

But in this moment there was nothing more than their intertwined hands and close embrace. Nothing but the love that flowed from them like moonlight on the lake on a hot, summer night.

For now, that was all that mattered.


End file.
